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The National Wildlife Federation's blogFri, 31 Jul 2015 19:00:24 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Tired of Polluter TV Spots? There’s an App for Thathttp://blog.nwf.org/2012/09/tired-of-polluter-tv-spots-theres-an-app-for-that/
http://blog.nwf.org/2012/09/tired-of-polluter-tv-spots-theres-an-app-for-that/#commentsThu, 20 Sep 2012 15:03:18 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=66716If you live in a political swing state, you’ve probably noticed the barrage of political ads being sponsored by oil, gas, and coal companies.

Wealthy polluters are pouring unprecedented millions into advertisements in an effort to influence this election. Ordinary Americans who care about conservation and wildlife may not have the deep pockets of polluters, but they are speaking out.

Checking the Ads

Anyone who watches Mad Men knows advertisers are plugged into our psychology. How do we know what the truth is? Political transparency has become an issue on more and more radar screens, especially after Citizens United v. FEC. But how can you find out the truth during this election cycle? You’re in luck, there’s an app for that.

It’s called the SuperPACApp, and is available for iPhone users. It’s the Shazam for political advertisements. The phone listens to the ad and within seconds reports on:

What group funded the ad;

How much it costs and

Information on the accuracy of the ad.

This app makes the unprecedented spending on political advertisements more transparent—allowing the viewer to gain clarityon what they are actually watching and where it is coming from.

So the next time your eyes start glazing over after yet another attack ad, break out your iPhone. But be careful, you might find yourself looking forward to the next commercial break, just not for the reasons the oil industry wants you to.

Here are some other great resources that peel back the curtain on dirty money:

Ten miles off Pensacola Beach on Sunday afternoon floated what looked like the biggest swirl of peanut butter in the world. It was 7 feet in diameter and several inches thick. Fish flitted in and out of its shadow, even though its edges oozed a silvery sheen that coated the waves. Small pieces had broken off, so it appeared to be surrounded by an armada of pencil erasers.

“That’s really wild to see that,” said [Lt. Rama] Shuster, 33, shaking his head. He said he was amazed that oil from 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico had somehow wended its way 200 miles to Florida’s coast and now floated near the shore, threatening to wreck the state’s economy and environment.

And responders feeling like BP is looking over their shoulder? More of that, too:

Later he and Officer John Bell, 29, were joshing around with Shuster about how to properly report what they had found. Shuster said BP wanted everyone to call it “product” because that sounded more benign than “toxic contaminant.”

Livesay pretended to read from a BP press release: “The bird cannot take off because he’s got product all over his wings.”

And as CNN’s Rob Marciano reports, a pelican covered in oil washed up on Pensacola Beach: